


Legacy

by EstherAle24_7



Category: Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Comfort/Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 17:29:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17166209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstherAle24_7/pseuds/EstherAle24_7
Summary: Both the Grayson & Zatara Lines have never been ones sans tragedy but when the fate of the world is at hand, only family both past and present have a chance at saving the world and proving the blood, even after the end, is thicker than water.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the genesis of the web of tales, I am hoping to weave successfully. Enjoy.

**The Night Before**

It was almost three in the morning and Zatanna laid in bed…..alone. Dick was usually home by two when he went out with the bats, something he was doing far too often for a 'retired' hero. She sat up and thought about tracking him and then thought better of it.

_If he needed or even wanted help, he would know to contact you. Relax Zee….get traught._  She thought, rolling her eyes as she thought of the word Dick would use to annoy her whenever she would get worried about him.

The twins were knocked out and the house was quiet, she got up from bed and threw on her robe before going down the stairs and into the kitchen. Just as she grabbed a bag of pretzels to start snacking on, she heard the apartment door creak open and close softly in the hall.

As he entered the kitchen, she threw him an all too familiar look of exhaustion. Dick smiled sheepishly at her and closed the distance between them quickly, pressing his lips to her temple.

She went to open her mouth but he beat her to the punch.

"I know I'm in trouble, but before you ask, you should know you look amazing tonight." He muttered against her jaw.

She turned her face to cock a brow at him, but he used it as an opportunity kiss her fully on the lips and grab her thighs in order to hoist her onto the counter-top.

She smiled into his kiss reluctantly and pushed him away playfully, "Nuh uh, not so fast boy blunder, it's not that easy." She said a bit breathlessly. "What happened? Where were you tonight?"

He flexed his jaw unconsciously, something he did when he didn't want to talk.

She gently took off his domino mask and waited for him to explain. Blue looked into blue as one tried to out wait the other and finally Zatanna's cerulean blue eyes narrowed just before Dick dropped his gaze and sighed.

"It's nothing, I was just lending a few of the guys a helping hand. It took longer than expected, that's all." He said quickly.

Zatanna took a sharp breath through her nose and Dick winced at the sound of it.

"You should know you're better at lying with the mask on," Zatanna said through her teeth, before hopping off the table and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Dick resisted the urge to smirk, though Zatanna didn't find the situation as funny. "Yeah, I know." He admitted, "But trust me Zee, it's not-"

She walked past him towards the staircase, "I don't care," she said cutting him off, "I'm not worried about your extra circular activities Dick, I know it was probably for a good reason but I'm not the only person waiting up for you anymore and I'm not the only person who is getting fed up with the lies. I'm not asking you to choose, in fact I shouldn't even have to but because I love you and because I understand, I put up with it but I swear Dick if this leads to more lies and half-truths, you won't have to pick between your family or the League because you'll be the person in need of saving." She seethed.

Zatanna stalked up the stairs and slammed the door to the master bedroom with as little but noticeable force as she could.

It wasn't easy storming out of a conversation when you had sleeping kids to worry about. She walked into the bathroom and splashed her face with cool water.

_The nerve of him to lie like that, after everything we've been through, after all of this –_

She took a deep breath and sighed before her hands unconsciously dropped to her stomach. Angry tears started to well up in her eyes,  _Why?_ She thought.

Dick sighed downstairs, he knew that lying would set her off but he couldn't tell her the truth. They were in trouble. Deep trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

**Friday; September 26 2000.**

**10:38pm.**

Dick knew those eyes, the cyan blue eyes that were like never ending skies, calming the raging storms that often brewed within him. The eyes he had come to love deeply, more than himself even, the eyes that shone brighter than the stars in the sky and were as sharp as knives, but who was she?

The young female robin held her domino mask in hand and pushed her raven colored locks behind her ears. "My name is Wyette, this is my brother John." She said looking pointedly at her partner. "We're from the future and we need your help."

The boy wonder took off his domino mask and the gasps coming from the team members in the bat cave seemed deafening. Alfred Pennyworth dropped the platter holding the tea and looked Batman straight in eyes.

"Miss Martian, Superboy, go to the watchtower and let the League know we have a…situation right now. We'll update them shortly."

Conner nodded and led a stunned M'gann out of the cave.

Bruce turned his attention to the twin wonders, looked back at a frozen Nightwing, and narrowed his eyes. "Speak." He ordered.

The girl robin opened her mouth to speak and the boy wonder threw his hand over her mouth. "Not yet," he told the both of them, "we need to get Zatanna Zatara's help too. She's the only person that can help us."

Nightwing was pulled out of his momentary daze, "No, we aren't getting her or anyone else for that matter involved." He stated firmly.

"Too late," the young boy wonder said smugly.

**Recognized Zatanna Zatara A 08**

"Nightwing? Batman?" Zatanna called out entering the batcave. Neither of them responded, Batman threw Nightwing a glare that he could feel from beneath the mask and Nightwing gritted his teeth.

He was supposed to have changed the code for the zeta tube into the batcave but he didn't bother changing it because the only person who knew the code made it very clear she didn't have a need for it after their not so mutual ending of any form of a relationship.

Hello?" Zatanna said called out again. She could sense them nearby but the Wayne manor was already huge beyond belief and the batcave was a whole other trek altogether. "Alfred?" she called out in an exasperated tone. She turned the corner and saw them standing in the center of the cave.

Her initial sigh of relief turned into a tight lipped narrowing of the eyes (when she realized they had purposely ignored her calls) and then a gasp when she fully took in the scene before her.

"Two robins?" she asked rhetorically, her voice stale from shock and annoyance.

Bruce nodded a hard nod. Nightwing visibly flinched at the sound of her voice so close to him but made no other move or sound.

Batman glanced at Zatanna broodingly for what seemed like quite some time before she realized and started to explain herself a bit too nonchalantly for an intruder of the batcave.

"There was a magical disturbance in the area and I pinpointed it to this location. I am guessing these two might have something to do with that." she clarified.

She gasped again when she took in the boy wonder; he looked just like…..her eyes darted from him to Nightwing.

The boy cleared his throat, "We are the robins of the future, the protégé's of batman. We've come back in time because we need your help Zatanna Zatara; we need you to fix our amulets."

Both robins pulled out identical thin silver necklaces that lay around their necks. The charm was beautiful and clearly custom made; it was designed to look exactly like Zatara's hovering platform, the one she often used to get around now. It had the exact same symbols but there was something else it was…a bird, a bird in the center of the circle.

"Me? Why me?" she asked stepping around Nightwing and getting a closer view of the amulets.

The girl spoke up this time, "Because you gave them to us the first time, in the future, but the magic is wearing off."

She looked back at Bruce and Dick, "So you two are from the future huh? I guess that's a good enough reason as any for all of this, but couldn't you have just bring it to the me of the future? I haven't really worked with amulets all that much yet." She confessed sheepishly.

The girl's face fell and her hair curtained her slender yet still childishly round face.

"No, you're your most powerful right now." The male robin chimed. "That's why we've come to the past, so that the you of now could help us."

Zatanna walked over and knelt down before the female robin, chills ran up her spine. It was almost haunting looking into those beautiful blue eyes. "Okay, I can try…." She said slowly.

Chills ran from the crown of Zatanna's head to her toes, as the necklaces beamed almost unnaturally.

The necklaces were identical except that the female robin had an actual necklace and the boy had a thinner more masculine chain to hold the crest. Zatanna met eyes with the other heroes in the room, they apparently didn't have a clue as to what was happening either and magic wasn't their expertise.

She noticed then how hard the girl robin was clenching her charm. She was clearly nervous and the thing helped her calm down, but it also seemed to be reacting to the girl's emotion. The male robin had goosebumps on his arms but seemed intent on ignoring it.

Zatanna smirked; the way he set his jaw line reminded her of the boy wonder she grew up with.

The sight of her smile seemed to mystify the female robin.

'Poor girl looks out of her element, huh, I know that feeling' Zatanna thought.

"Do you mind?" Zatanna asked, using one delicate finger to point at the hand that was clutching the crest.

The girl dropped her hand from the crest and joined it with her other hand. Zatanna looked at the crest, a bit stumped. It wasn't the normal magical crests or amulets that she had come across, but it was definitely the source of the magic.

Zatanna noticed the girl's hands trembling, "You don't have to be scared you know, we're the good guys." she assured her gently.

The boy robin had his strong jaw set in place, watching Zatanna and his counterpart. It happened so fast, no one in the cave was ready, just as Zatanna touched the girl's necklace a burst of light devoured the cave.

The silence erupted, "Ahhhhhhh!"

"Zatanna!" Nightwing screamed.

"Wyette!" the boy wonder shouted.


	3. Chapter 3

The eerie darkness of the cave and the sounds of terror were drowned out by the light and then as quickly as it had happened it was over. Both Zatanna and the girl wonder lay on the ground of the batcave, unconscious.

No one else was harmed, dazed by the sudden light but unharmed, the boy wonder rushed over to his counterpart only to be grabbed by Bruce.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" He yelled as he thrashed around in Bruce's vice tight arms.

Just then another small burst of light shot out of the young girl's necklace and formed a small barrier of light around her. The boy seemed to calm down then but growled wordlessly as he tried to pull away from Bruce's impeccable defense.

"Zee?!" Nightwing ran over and propped her up in his arms.

_'She's breathing'_  he thought to himself in the midst of the panic in his mind.  _'But she's unresponsive, her body is limp like she's been knocked out cold...'_

"What just happened?" he asked the boy robin in batman's arms.

"I don't know, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen." The boy growled.

Bruce moved his hand up to his ear, "Dr. Fate, we need you in the bat cave…now."

* * *

 

When Zatanna came to she was on the cot in the bat cave and could hear talking.

"Ugh ow" she moaned, her head was throbbing.

Nightwing, Batman and Dr. Fate came into plain view. Zatanna tensed and looked over her side, she felt something disturbing her flow of magic but ignored it.

' _It's probably Fate trying to do a magical scan of my magical and physical health. Wish he wouldn't though'_  she thought bitterly.

The twin robins were handcuffed to their cots, the girl still unconscious and the young boy wonder just as gleesome as ever.

Zatanna pulled herself off of her make shift cot and walked over to where the girl stirred. Fate and Bruce (still in his uniform) were speaking in hushed tones away from the group, but still overly attentive as always.

She stood over the female robin now and took a deep breath to steady herself and her magic, this time she just let a bit of her magic seep out of her in order to feel around girl, just as her magic went to touch the sleeping girl a light shield presented itself around the girl…protecting her.

Nightwing looked up from where he sat and watched as Zatanna's face glowed with determination as it did whenever she had a task at hand; her eyebrows despite their distance tried to meet at the center and the skin between them furrowed. She pursed her full lips and took a steadying breath in through her nose, Dick smirked to himself a little.

He wanted to laugh, laugh at how nothing about her little habits had changed since they last laughed together but he didn't because it wasn't like the last time when they'd laughed together. It would never be like the last time, but despite his gruesome thoughts he got up from his seat and gravitated to where she stood and waited for her quiet analysis.

Batman and Fate turned to look at them then.

"There is strange magic surrounding these children," Fate announced to them, "it is not of this time but it is truly powerful. I can't seem to find a way around its defenses, it's unheard of."

Zatanna's concentration twitched and her magic faltered at the intrusion of his voice. She looked at Fate scathingly, she couldn't help but want to defiantly keep trying simply to prove him wrong but she stopped in spite of herself and instead found herself looking at the boy wonder who looked over his partner, his sister, so protectively.

His head snapped up and his eyes filled with bitterness and hatred slid past Zatanna, before resting on Fate.

_Something isn't right here_ , she thought,  _there is more magic than just mines and Fate's in the cave. This magic is too great, too untamed and raw, it's…..it's coming from_

"Who are you?" she asked the young robin suddenly.

The boy tensed, "We already told you we're robins from the future, trained by Batman." He said too quickly before flexing his jaw and remaining silent.

Her eyebrows shot up, and she looked at the young man before her and Nightwing again.

' _Okay, now that's just freaky'_ she thought to herself as a small chill ran down her spine.

"There's something you aren't telling us," she said gently, trying to remind him that she was on his side. Just as his face started to soften a beam of light shot from the boy's necklace and shocked Fate.

"AHHHHHH!" He screamed as the two streamed light coursed through his body like living lightening.

"Dad!" she screamed in horror, paling at the sight. "Stop!" she shrieked so loud everyone jumped. She grabbed the boy by his uniform and looked into his eyes with desperation and anger.

"It isn't me!" the boy yelled shrinking under her glare, "It's him, he has to stop trying to get through the shield with magic or else." He said, just as the light dissipated from Fate's body.

Batman caught him just before he crumpled to the ground, "As I thought, this charm was designed to repel all foreign magic. I'm fine, I was just testing my hypothesis." Fate gasped.

Zatanna clenched her teeth and angry tears sprung in eyes. She hated him, using her father's body like some puppet without feeling. She vowed to free her father from his grasp…someday but she still wasn't powerful enough, not yet.

"Careful how you use that body Fate, it isn't yours." The boy wonder spat with so much acid and resentment in his voice, that Batman and Nightwing turned to look at him.

Zatanna turned to look at the kid she was still grabbing by the uniform, her knuckles white from the amount of force she'd used to do so, and appreciated his fellow resentment of fate. He had to be good if he could see the evil in fate.

Fate was about to reply when Batman interrupted him. "He's right Fate, Giovanni is still in there. So refrain from the unnecessary self-harm."

"How did you know…" Nightwing started.

The boy gave him an obvious look, "Future." He said in a hard voice.

"Right." Nightwing grumbled.

The young girl started to regain consciousness and Fate's eyes narrowed and then glared pointedly at the boy.

"There is more than just the amulet magic," Fate said in an accusatory tone "You two are homo magicians."

The young boy robin helped his sister sit up but his lips pressed into a hard line. He clearly had no intention of answering to Fate, Zatanna couldn't help but smirk at his blatant defiance towards Fate. It pleased her that someone could act how she really felt towards him.

"We're twins," the girl robing said slowly.

"Wyette, are you okay? What happened?" the boy asked in a hushed tone.

Fate's demeanor changed entirely, he looked almost pale.

Zatanna could feel herself tense in response. "If they're twins they can't be homo magi's. It's not possible." She said dismissively.

"Why not?" asked Bruce and Nightwing simultaneously.

Fate just stared at the twins numbly and Zatanna continued slowly, "Homo magi babies, they feed off of the magic of their mother. Carrying even a single child, a pregnant homo magi has to refrain from using even the simplest of magic. Excessive use of her magic during pregnancy would drain her magic killing both her and the baby, so it is just not possible. Twins would've deprived the mother of her magic too quickly, all three of them would've died."

Zatanna snuck a quick glance up at Nightwing, his strong jaw was tight.

Fate was still stuck in his place, which was unlike him so she spoke again. "You should know this better than I do Fate, twin homo magi's don't exist." She reminded him in a hard voice even though she was now slightly unsure of herself.

"But we  _are_  twin homo magi's." the boy whispered, looking intently at the cot sheets.

Zatanna scoffed brusquely now, "Look…I'm sorry kid but history says that just isn't a possibility. No one homo magi has enough magic within them to sustain three beings at once. It's just unheard of."

The twins stayed silent. "We can't help you if you don't trust us." Dick chided in roughly.

"Actually there have been one other pair of homo magi twins, we're just there reincarnates." the young boy stated in a smug yet uninterested voice.

"Yin and Yang," Fate said absentmindedly.

The girl sighed, "We have to tell them John. The whole truth, not just part of it or it won't make sense to them." she said. She sucked in a quick breath.

"My name is Wyette… Wyette Sindella-Grace Grayson and this is my brother John Wallace Grayson. We're the children of Zatanna Zatara and Richard Grayson …from the future." She said.


	4. Chapter 4

"My name is Wyette… Wyette Sindella-Grace Grayson and this is my brother John Wallace Grayson. We're the children of Zatanna Zatara and Richard Grayson …from the future." She said looking around the cave daring for someone to object to what she was saying.

The air in the cave hummed with a deafness like no other. The air felt electric, hazardous; no one made a motion.

When no one stopped her, more so because they were all speechless, she continued, "We're twins, you gave these charmed necklaces to us at birth," she choked.

"It's our family crest," the boy said suddenly. "Only we four have this symbol, something no one can replicate or take away. Made with blood and magic, to protect us from anything evil and so that we would never forget who we were or where we came from. It's like a birth mark, irremovable and mark of identity."

"It also masks our magic to those who want to hurt us." The girl robin confessed. "But Klarion and the light have found us. They've taken the watchtower and the batcave, they want to us to surrender ourselves to use our power to fuel some ancient mystical weapon. Alfred sent us back and said you could help us, that you could reset the power in our amulets and help us stop them."

Bruce looked at Dick and Zatanna, but both looked shocked and stood there speechless.

_This can't be happening_ , they thought simultaneously.

* * *

 

**FLASHBACK.**

_He found her on the roof top, looking over the town line. She bought her chest to her knees and wrapped her arms around them; like she was trying to keep herself from falling apart._

" _Hey," he whispered, not trying to ruin the serenity of the moment, as he sat down beside her._

_She looked over at him, face flushed, eyes wet, and smile dazzling. The sight took his breath away._

_It's such a relief not having to hide anything from her anymore, it's literally like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders._

" _Hey, right back at you." She said while she shook her head and chuckled._

" _So, Artemis is alive and reunited with Wally. Kaldur is back home, where he belongs, with us. Everything is just perfect; the way it should be." He muttered summarizing the events that just took place in the cave._

_Zatanna laughed freely and carelessly, tears running down her face as the wind whipped her hair in every direction. It was single handedly the most terrifyingly beautiful thing he'd seen._

_He threw her a concerned look and she seemed to come off her momentary high, chuckling softly. She caught his worried glance and smiled apologetically._

" _Sorry, it's just that, my best friend is back from the dead and it turns out that the guy who was like a big brother to me is home and good. I just couldn't be happier, I'm really just trying to keep them from seeing the full extent of my insane neediness right now. I know they just need their alone time, you know Wally and Artemis, and Kaldur and Aquaman…." She trailed off._

" _Yeah," Nightwing said jokingly while running his hands through his hair, "who would've known…"_

_She turned to face him suddenly with an arched brow. "Well…..you for starters." She said with a breath of resigned frustration._

" _Well, yeah, I just meant….yeah." he fumbled around his words awkwardly._

_They sat in silence for a moment. Nightwing sighed, knowing full well he owed Zatanna an apology, she was always so open with him, and even after all they had been through together…._

_I should've told her. He thought pitifully._

" _Look Zee…." He started hurriedly_

" _Don't" she said cutting him off in an eerily calm voice, "I understand now." She said slowly._

_Nightwing cringed, he knew her well enough to know that in the moments when she sounded calm, she was the angriest; the most hurt._

" _You know, a few weeks ago when you came to my apartment, and you let me cry about Artemis the whole night. You even let me cry for Kaldur, even though he was the bad guy at the time. Did you know I cried for you?" She asked rhetorically before going on. "I cried for you because I knew how much the guilt had to be killing you inside. I thought you were crushed after speaking to Wally, your best friend, about letting him know that the love of his life died on your watch." she continued numbly._

_He grabbed her hand suddenly, "I know Zee, and I am so so sorry. It was so wrong of me," he blurted out, before stopping his words cold._

_The tears brimmed over her eyes and flooded her face, she bit her bottom lip and shook her head softly and slowly._

_She moved her hand to his face, almost cupping his cheek and lightly traced the outline of his domino mask with her fingers. He leaned into her hand, moving his own to keep hers there._

" _Zee…" he said softly but seriously. "I'm sorry."_

" _No." she said softly._

_They sat quietly for moment not moving from their positions._

" _No?" Nightwing repeated, urging her to go on._

_She bit her lip hard, and her hand went limp in his before she let it drop completely and return to her lap. Another long silent moment passed between them._

_She looked into his mask, where she knew his mysterious eyes would be boring into her own._

" _No, you were right Nightwing. We…us…..our jobs," she struggled to continue, "we have to realize and see it as it is. It's a job, we have to trust each other with our lives to get the job done and that's all that is expected of us. That's what heroes do, but that doesn't make us any closer than that, than colleagues who work together to get the job done."_

_Nightwing looked at her horrified, as she went on despite his blatant disapproval._

" _It was wrong of me to ask for more than that of a colleague, unprofessional even and I'm sorry. I understand now that it was too much to ask that of you and that you were right. I just always regarded you as so much more than that, I thought we were…well I thought that we were at the very least friends and that was naïve of me." She said slowly but in a certain and strong voice._

" _But I get it now," she continued, "I get how you work and that's okay with me. It's just part pf who you are. I just wish, well I just wish I could've figured it out earlier." She finished, rising to her feet slowly._

… _._

_Nightwing couldn't even process what was happening. She flipped her phone open and started to get up. "I've got to go….." she muttered. "Good bye Nightwing."_

_He grabbed her hand, before he could think about the action._

" _No, please Zee, that's not it…" he started, his voice sounding hushed and broken. "Please."_

_She looked back and down at him, her silent tears noisily streaking down her ivory face, and squatted down to his level. She held his face, in both of her small but strong hands touched his forehead with her own. He quickly but gently grabbed either side of her face to keep them in this position and she shook her head against his._

" _You're turning into exactly what you didn't want to be." She sobbed in a hushed but broken voice. "I can't do this anymore, it's not good for either of us and…..and I won't watch you become….become….." she pulled in a sharp breath and didn't continue._

_Even now, during her own heartbreak, she cried for him. Cried for the boy she once knew and loved, the boy who didn't want to be The Batman. The man engulfed in darkness for the sake of the light._

" _Don't do this Zee." Dick muttered. "Don't. You know it was all for the sake of the mission, you know that I-"_

" _Please Nightwing…Robin…Dick….whoever you really are, just let me go. Please." She choked before kissing both cheeks and his mask, then after a ragged breath, with a quick movement of her fingers and a whispered spell, she was gone._

_Gone._

_That was possibly the worst night of his life. Competing toe to toe with failsafe mission, gone horribly wrong with the original team a few years back._

_Nightwing hadn't seen much of Zatanna after that night, even when they were in the same room she never stuck around long enough to be left alone with him. In fact, the only times they talked consisted of exchanging commonplace pleasantries in front of the team and League, and on missions._

_He texted, called, and even wrote and sent letters to her apartment in the hopes that she would respond to something. But it was radio silence on her end, and he finally decided to respect her wishes and give her the space she wanted._

_It was maddening and after Wally died….it just got worse._

He had only just started suiting up again, being himself again, moving on from Zee…..again and now look at the mess they were in.

**END OF FLASH BACK.  
**

* * *

Zatanna's hand flew to her throat as she pulled in the air she'd stopped breathing after Wyette spoke. She gasped at the air like it was choking her instead of relieving her. Alfred stood behind her and patted her back like she was choking; she heeled over and threw her hand in the air.

"I'm fine! Sorry. Fine." She coughed and the turned in to face Alfred, whom she threw a disclosed panicked look to.

Dick looked away from Zatanna's back, he couldn't do it anymore. He wouldn't hurt her anymore, he was just finally getting used to not having her around and now this.

Bruce cleared his throat but Dick spoke first, "Am I the only person thinking this is a just a little unbelievable? I mean, our kids from the future? Oh common, this has to be a joke." He said motioning his upturned palm to the two teenagers standing in the center of the cave.

"It's not a joke." The boy…..John said bitterly. His bright blue eyes were stormy, haunting. His features were almost identical to Dick's younger self and Bruce sighed as he massaged the back of his neck with his hand, "I think a DNA test is in order here and….until then, until we can verify your story you can stay here at Wayne Manor."

Dick looked at him from beneath his mask, not in the slightest taken aback by his former mentors decision.

"Of course," Dick said in a slack voice, the acid in his tone was not withheld. "Be our guests."


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the evening was spent getting samples of DNA and magical source materials from Wyette, John, Zatanna and a less than cordial Dick.

Fate paced the BatCave idly, mumbling to himself in hushed tones before he vanished without warning. Once Alfred collected the samples, everyone was dismissed. Zatanna hopped off the cot and stretched, she smiled at the twins wearily and wished them a good night.

Dick watched peripherally as she walked over to Alfred, said her short good bye, and walked over to where he sat. She stood in front of him now, her arms crossed in front of her, her fingers pressed into the skin at the crease of her elbows.

She cleared her throat, "Can we talk?" she asked suddenly.

He kept staring at the computer, his fingers working unconsciously on a hacking code he'd figured out long ago. "Speak," he promoted her dryly.

She shifted her weighted from the balls of her feet (in the red bottom black heels she loved so much) onto her right leg. "Privately," she added curtly before spinning around heading for the zeta tubes.

_What? Does she just expect me to follow her like_  –Before he even finished his mental rant he'd gotten up to follow her to the zeta tubes. She was tapping her foot impatiently when he caught up to her. She spun to face him now; she opened her mouth and then closed it again as her brows furrowed in frustration.

"Look," she said finally after what seemed like a prolonged moment of awkwardness. "This isn't about us so we don't have to -"

"Got it." Dick said in a hard voice cutting her off and turning around to walk away. Zatanna's brows shot up as she lunged to catch his shoulder.

Goosebumps ran from the crown of his head to his feet when he felt her hand land on his shoulder; his movements stopped in their tracks. Her hand lingered there at his broad shoulder and instead of spinning him around to face her; she walked around him to face the front of his body.

"I'm not done Dick." She said brusquely.

Dick looked at her incredulously, _'what more is there to say'_  he thought tiredly. They stood there staring each other down before Dick finally moved his glare to look at her hand still resting on his shoulder, warm and soft as it was he hated how it made him feel; like everything was okay despite the obvious fact that it wasn't.

Zatanna pulled back her hand and pressed it with the other. "Sorry," she said in a muted tone. "I just mean, that we have to work together for this one but it doesn't have to be…awkward or anything."

"It's a bit too late for that don't you think?" He asked rhetorically as he started to walk past her. He stopped before he passed her, shook his head and barked a bitter dark laugh. "And the fact that you of all people would imply that I would act any sort of way just to get attention is just (he shook his head again in disgust)….well it's nice to know how you really see me." He sneered.

"Excuse me? I didn't mean, I'm just saying…." Zatanna started, "Look you know that there are some things I just wouldn't do, like I wouldn't -" she didn't get to finish.

"Wouldn't forgive me?" Dick said snubbing her in a hushed but belligerent tone. Zatanna's face flushed as she tried to ignore the anger welling up inside of her.

"No, I couldn't" she tried starting again trying to ignore his jab.

"Couldn't reply to a single one of my messages? Couldn't even come see me when my best friend died?" Dick said ticking off his little list, cutting her off again.

"No!" she shouted, "No I couldn't Nightwing (she said his super hero in a hard jeering tone that made him visibly flinch), okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?! God, I'm sorry for once my life couldn't be all about you, okay?"

Dick felt like he'd just been slapped. He couldn't even respond, but he didn't have to.

"Enough already!" Alfred said, "For fuck's sake you two are acting like children and in front of your own children."

They stood silently glaring at each other until finally Zatanna sighed and looked over at the two children who stood behind him. John glared at the ground and Wyette...looked the way Dick felt, like she'd been slapped.

"I'm sorry," she said fervently, clearly apologizing for more than just the outburst. Dick said nothing in response, the shock of her last outburst still trying to register in his mind.

"Good night." She whispered before stepping pass him and entering the zeta tube.

_**Recognized Zatanna Zatara A 08** _

Alfred looked at Dick with a scowl on his face, before turning to the twins. "I'll show you two to the guest rooms." He said.

"Let me," Dick said in a halfhearted attempt to appease Alfred (he hated when Alfred was mad at him, it made him feel like shitty person), "You've got enough to do."

"Don't bother. We know where everything is." John said grabbing Wyette by the wrist and pulling her up the stairs. He marched up the steps and dragged Wyette behind. "Good night." He mumbled once they reached the door.

Dick was left staring at Alfred who shook his head and sighed in a resigned tone before turning to continue working on the samples.

Dick turned to leave, "You're better than this master Dick. I know, she knows it, and they know it too." Alfred said.

"We don't know if they are who they say they are." He reminded Alfred as he walked towards his bike.

"Oh but don't we?" Alfred asked, after Dick peeled off into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Dick yawned and stretched as he waited for the Bludhaven night life to come to a boil. He sucked his teeth then,  _what had petty crime come to a stop the way life had just a few hours ago?_  He thought bleakly.

Just then lightning struck the ground just beyond the outskirts of town. A chill crawled down his spine slowly as he waited to see if another would strike; he held his breath. Just then lightning struck the same area again and he pulled out his binoculars though he knew damn well what he'd see. His right hand started tingling and he gripped the binoculars tighter.

It was a sign, their sign. It meant Zatanna was in town and that she would be waiting for him.

* * *

 

**FLASHBACK.**

" _You know you missed my show in Gotham last night." Zatanna said coyly as he ran his hands up and around her waist from behind._

_She spun around in his arms, catching him off guard and pecked his cheek. Dick laughed, "You know I don't live in Gotham anymore, how was I supposed to know you were in town?" he countered._

_They'd been playing a game of cat and mouse for what seemed like forever now and he'd be damned if he couldn't have her tonight._

_She pursed her lips and pouted attractively, "You're right. I guess you'll just have to come the next time I'm in town."_

" _Yeah, but you're in town now, and in my arms…." His voice trailed off, and Zatanna looked at him mischievously cocking a shapely brow._

" _Am I?" she asked skeptically._

_She was gone then, and Dick was standing in an open field – manor, sexy magician, and dignity gone- he held up his empty arms and groaned._

" _Oh common Zee!" he cried into the summer night air knowing she could still somehow hear him._

_He heard her light chuckle and ghostly whisper on the wind that blew past him, "Sorry boy wonder, duty calls."_

_He sulked for the rest of the night and walked up to his apartment lazily. He walked to the door and opened it, just as he stepped over the lip of the door, lightning danced on the coffee table around an ivory sheet of paper._

_A smile crept unto his face and he reached for the note hesitantly, his hand passed through the lightning and the lighting through his hand, it felt as though something were tickling the palm of his hand but he disregarded the feeling and pulled the note out from under it._

_Boy Blunder, we're hardly ever in the same place at the same time let alone there and unoccupied. It's an oddity, like lightening hitting the same place twice. So that'll be our sign. When lightning strikes the same place twice; find me. Z._

**END FLASHBACK.**

* * *

 

He stood there now atop the building, frozen watching where the lightning had struck twice. After an hour it happened again, striking the ground twice in the same place and though every cell in his body begged him to do otherwise. He never moved.


	7. Chapter 7

The Wayne Manor could be described as anything but small, but for the first time the walls felt like they were closing in on them as they waited for Alfred to reveal the news the next morning.

Zatanna and Alfred were in the main foyer while Wyette and John were in the living room, waiting for the next move to be made.

Alfred, sitting beside Zatanna on the grand staircase, was still laughing at one of Zatanna's stories when she bit her lower lip and mustered the courage to ask, "Where was he last night Alfred?" softly and obviously hurt.

Alfred's smile fell and he looked her in eye seriously, "So the light show last night was your doing," he confirmed for himself and nagged her at the same time. Zatanna lowered her gaze and nodded before he sighed and answered her again. "I don't know where Miss but I would imagine he didn't go see you because he has things to sort out for himself right now. What with you coming back into his life despite all you two have been through and two kids running around claiming to be yours, heck even being around Master Bruce for this long has probably got him thinking about a lot right now." He explained.

Zatanna nodded but seemed unconvinced, Alfred put a gentle hand to her knee. "Try not to worry, if there's anything I've learned in my short lived life it's that worrying, especially about the little things, in this family will kill you."

At that she had to smirk, Alfred patted her knee and got up slowly. "Well, I guess it's time for the grand reveal. I'll be back, the twins are in the living room and there are breakfast muffins in the kitchen." He said.

"Thanks Alfred," she called out after him before getting up and walking over to the living room door frame. She quietly leaned against the mahogany frame as she watched the twins explore and scrutinize everything in sight.

* * *

 

John wore some of Dick's old clothes that hadn't been donated to charity, most of which was actually the old Gotham academy uniforms.

He wore a pristine white button up shirt that was untucked, the khaki pants were a bit big on him but not so much that he swam in it; it simply looked baggy and held up by the thin black belt strapped along the waist line of the pants. Though the shirt was not buttoned up all the way, John wore the light red tie loosely around his neck and at an angle, only further emphasizing his own physical build.

Zatanna couldn't help but chuckle slightly when she saw him, he was certainly nothing like the prim and proper Dick Grayson at that age. The misunderstood bad boy look (what she decided to coin his look) fit him to a T, flattered him even. His disheveled wavy black hair and steeling blue eyes, made a statement of their on his muscular face and his lips were of medial size but full enough to almost take away from the square jawline coming into form…..almost. Zatanna pursed her own lips, if it turned out that he was her son she had to say she was proud, he clearly had to be a heart breaker in his time.

_**Well**_ she thought idly,  _ **at least if he is my son I can claim he gets his good looks from me**_ **.**  John noticed her staring at him them and fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze. He pushed a lock of hair behind his pierced ear and Zatanna moved her fixated gaze elsewhere.

_**Those ears though, are definitely Dick's**_  she thought a small blush coming to her face.

She looked at Wyette next who wore some of Barbara's old uniform –the thought of which did not necessarily please her- but if she were being honest the girl was like a physical photocopy of her younger self,  _ **maybe a little thinner by a size maybe**_ …. She thought.

Wyette's legs were thinner though her knees knobbier  _ **(clearly she inherited Dick's legs when he was still robin**_  Zatanna thought) but still they were very toned and though a little longer than average girls due to her height; very shapely. Her body was almost perfectly proportioned, almost…..her waist and bust were just a little bigger than a girl of her usual size but if she was her daughter, no one could expect anything less.

Her cheeks were almost always rosy and ever so slightly rounded but not in the way that made her look like a child, in the way that made her look more feminine. Her eyes… looking into her eyes was chilling, haunting even. Zatanna knew those eyes, they were the eyes that stared back at her in the mirror everyday but clearer, kinder, more optimistic and obvious in intent. Her lengthy raven locks framed her face perfectly, even in movement it was like watching a moving picture, there was no denying she was beautiful. Heartbreakingly so… Wyette spun and caught Zatanna's eyes in her own before breaking into an overjoyed smile.

Zatanna gave a weak smile of her own and spun into the hallway before she could shiver from the amount of panic that was threatening to overtake her.

It was still early, just after the breakfast hour (not that anyone could actually eat with the knots that sat in their stomachs) when Alfred gave them the results.

"I'm afraid it's a match Master Dick, Miss Zatanna. They are your biological children." He said almost dismissively (the other tone in his voice was oddly…giddy Dick thought to himself), as if this wasn't the most life altering news they'd ever heard.

It was silent for a moment until Dick cleared his throat to speak, though the sound was no louder than a whisper. "So what now?" he asked numbly, not addressing anyone in particular.

Bruce looked pointedly at Zatanna and she winced before speaking in a rushed but calm tone of voice. "I guess… well I guess we get more info. There's still so much we don't know – I don't know… about the kind of magical help they'll need. I can read up on magical amulets and charms, there's a library at Shawdowcrest that should have information but it's going to take time."

"How much time?" Bruce asked broodingly.

"I don't know, I couldn't even guess, this is supernatural even for me." Zatanna joked weakly.

"You know the more time they spend here, the more things can go wrong in the future and in our present time." Bruce reminded her in the same tone, obviously not seeing the humor in her joke.

"Yes, I know. I'll work quickly." She promised.

"Then be sure to give us an ETA as soon as you can, in the meantime no one can find out about this. Not even the league." Bruce said broodingly.

Dick and Zatanna nodded in harmony. If the team found out about this, there would be no end to the jokes, the stares, the whispers, and the agony.

"Agreed," Dick said too suddenly.

Zatanna rolled her eyes in annoyance, despite the fact that they were in agreement. Bruce shifted uncomfortably and Alfred sighed, while Dick remained oblivious.

"Is working together going to be a problem?" Bruce asked reluctantly. "This is a more sensitive matter, after all."

Dick looked at the acclaimed mistress of magic standing beside him, her hands were crossed just below her chest and her cyan blue eyes looked colder than ice. She didn't wear her uniform now, she was wearing washed out blue skinny jeans tucked into her knee high black boots and a soft white sweater under a small black puffer vest jacket.

And though he had just seen her last night in the cave, it was like he was looking at her for the first time in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time he's seen her out of uniform.

Zatanna looked up at him with narrowed petulant eyes, and Bruce cleared his throat. Dick looked over to his former mentor and noticed that he forgot how long he'd been staring at her.

"Uh, yeah," he answered lamely after clearly his own throat.

"Yep." Zatanna said curtly.

Bruce nodded and Alfred continued to look uncomfortable.

"Okay," Bruce said in an uncertain tone. "I'll leave you two to it."

They both nodded and Bruce was off. When the door closed behind him, Alfred cleared his throat.

"Are you still a vegetarian, Miss Zatanna?" he asked.

Zatanna looked over at him and couldn't help but smile, "Yes, Alfred."

Alfred returned her smile, looked over at Dick and then back at her, "Then I think I'll step out and do some grocery shopping for lunch and dinner. I have a few new vegetarian recipes I think you're going to want to try." He said excitedly.

Alfred was all but gone then.

Finally, Dick turned to Zatanna hesitantly, "We should probably get in there and talk to them, you know, find out the whole story." He prompted.

"Yep, let's do it." She said as she quickly turned on her heel and headed for the living room.

Dick watched her walk away from behind and wanted to bang his head against the wall in frustration. "Wait Zee," he said fervently.

Zatanna stopped in her tracks and resisted the urge to shudder at the sound of his nickname for her. She could hear him walking up behind her and she turned to face him with pursed lips and a guarded expression.

"Last night," he started and her heart froze, "you were right…..I mean about not making this about us. I mean of course it's about us, but it's not about our past…well our current problem…I mean it's about the kids who are our kids but -"

A small smile pulled at her lips as Dick tripped over his words. "I get it." She said softly.

Dick looked at her thankfully for cutting him off. "Thanks." He said.

She sighed and inclined her head in the direction of the living room. Dick nodded and they walked into the living room.


	8. Chapter 8

Wyette and John were sitting on the center couch watching the small flames lick the logs sitting just behind the hearth of the fireplace.

Dick quickly threw Zatanna a flat look; it couldn't have been more obvious that they had been listening to the conversation in the hallway the entire time.

Dick cleared his throat but before they could say anything, Wyette's head whipped around to face them and was smiling from ear to ear. John sighed and shook his head, rolling his eyes as he turned to face them the way his sister had.

_**There has to be a word stronger than awkward to describe this moment**_  Dick thought as he walked alongside his ex to his future children. He looked at Zatanna who seemed to be sharing the same sentiment.

"Hey," she said just a little smugly. "So I'm guessing you two heard that out there."

The twins nodded in unison, Wyette more animatedly and John stoically. Before either hero could speak Wyette vanished and reappeared before them in less than a full 2 seconds.

"Woah," Dick said as he pulled back a bit. Zatanna smirked at her speed and enthusiasm.

_**Well she's certainly very cheerful and very comfortable using her magic.**_ Zatanna thought.

Wyette's cyan blue eyes danced with unbridled excitement as she fidgeted in front of them. "Thank you so much for helping us, I can't even believe this is actually happening. I've always wanted to meet you guys in the past and now we're a family in the past and the future. Well your present and future, and my past and present." She said correcting herself.

Dick was nodding his head slowly in an effort to show he was keeping up.

Zatanna laughed, "Right," she said in an effort to do the same.

John appeared out of nowhere by Wyette's side, clearly not as excited as his partner.

"So I'm Wyette and this is my twin brother John, in case you forgot and we're you're future kids." She said.

"We didn't forget," Zatanna and Dick said simultaneously.

It didn't seem possible but Wyette's smile got bigger and John looked at them like they shared a third eye.

"Wow," Wyette squeaked.

Dick cleared his throat, "I'm -"

"Richard 'Dick' Grayson, our father." Wyette finished, cutting him off, and beaming.

"God, Wye, can you let them finish? Or speak for that matter? Relax." John spat at her. Wyette shrunk back at his tone.

Dick placed his hand on the back of his neck, "Guess you guys know who we are, no need for the formalities then, right?" He said looking at the twins in front of him and Zatanna at his side. "So what can we do for you guys, you said you needed help right?"

"Yeah," John answered brusquely, "Look we're being tracked by some pretty powerful bad guys here

"Klarion the Witch boy and co., right?" Dick reiterated to make sure they were on the same page.

John nodded, "Right, but that's nothing new we're always being hunted by bad guys. What's new is that now they're able to find us and hurt us, usually the amulet can keep us hidden and even protected, but the magic in the amulet is getting weaker. We've tried everything to restore its power but apparently only you can do it, and it has to be you of this specific time because not even our Zatanna can do it." He said looking pointedly at Zatanna.

Zatanna's eyes were unreadable as she listened to him and responded, "Okay," she said firmly, "But like I told Batman, I'm not all that familiar with amulets and that kind of magic yet. I don't know how long this could take."

The twins shared an uneasy look but understood.

"Maybe we could help," Wyette offered.

"Sure," Zatanna said slowly, "We can go to the library in Shadowcrest and-"

Before Zatanna could finishing speaking Wyette threw her arms in the air, twitched her fingers and they watched as the atmosphere around them warped in and sucked them into the air. In what seemed like the same second they fell out of the atmosphere and landed in the living room of Shadowcrest Manor.

The twins landed on their feet gracefully, while Zatanna had to catch her balance and Dick nearly stumbled into the stand alone lamp.

"You're pretty fast," Zatanna said in a tone that sounded both intrigued and impressed.

Wyette smiled, "The fastest," she replied excitedly.

John scoffed, and Wyette's smile faltered. "The second fastest," she corrected herself.

Dick leaned against the wall, "That's great but maybe a warning the next time." He sulked.

Zatanna rolled her eyes but still couldn't help herself from smiling.

"Sorry," Wyette said not looking sorry at all.

Dick looked at her almost sullenly.

"Okay," John prompted impatiently, "So where's the library?"

Zatanna's brows shot up. "Wait, you mean you don't know where it is?" she asked.

"No," the twins chorused.

"I mean, we've been to the other library with regular books and stuff but we haven't found the living library." Wyette admitted.

Dick looked at Zatanna, who seemed genuinely perplexed.

"Hey!" John shouted as rope bound him and Wyette together in the next second. "What are you doing?"

"John watch -" the bound pair fell over their own feet and hit the carpeted floor with a thud. "Ow." Wyette croaked.

"Gag mih" Zatanna said. A gag appeared on his mouth in the same second.

"Zatanna, what are you-" Dick started.

Zatanna squatted down to their bounded level. "One doesn't find the living library," she muttered, "Shawdowcrest is the living library. The house serves the Zatara bloodline, so if you haven't found it it's because the house doesn't want you to and if ShadowCrest doesn't trust you, why should I?"

She waited momentarily for an answer and then looked to Wyette who didn't have a gag over her mouth.

"What aren't you two aren't telling us?" She asked.

Wyette shrank back at Zatanna's glare, "N-no." She stuttered, "We're not lying, I swear."

"I didn't say you were lying, I said you were withholding information." Zatanna corrected her.

"There's a difference." Dick said from behind.

Wyette looked at John who was glaring at his would be parents with rage. "Why can't I get loose from this?" Wyette asked sharply.

Zatanna smiled, "A Zatara's power is boundless in the manor. My magic is most powerful here so even the reincarnates of yin and yang can't escape me."

Wyette's face slipped into a pout and Dick blanched from behind Zatanna. It was like looking at Zatanna from the past, when they'd first met.

"Technically speaking, we aren't active reincarnates until our present yin and yang cease to exist." Wyette sassed.

A look of puzzlement skidded across Zatanna's face. Wyette smirked, "It's a long story." She said.

"Well let's focus on the part of the story you aren't telling us." Dick said.

Wyette looked at John again and sighed, "We've never been to the library because ShadowCrest can't let us in. Someone charmed it before we could get to it. No one has been able to enter the library for as long as we can remember, not even you."

Zatanna shook her head unwilling to believe, "That's not possible as master of ShadowCrest, the house bends to my will in any and every time."

The gag around John's mouth evaporated, "Well apparently ShadowCrest serves two masters. You and Giovanni 'John' Zatara."


End file.
